Zearchaea clypeata

Zearchaea clypeata

Not Threatened (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Mecysmaucheniidae
Genus: Zearchaea
Species:
Z. clypeata
Binomial name
Zearchaea clypeata
Wilton, 1946

Zearchaea clypeata is a species of Mecysmaucheniidae spider that is endemic to New Zealand.

Taxonomy

This species was described in 1946 by Cecil Louis Wilton from female and male specimens collected in Masterton.[1] It was then later redescribed in 1955.[2] The holotype is stored in Te Papa Museum under registration number AS.000017.[3]

Description

The female is recorded at 2.2mm in length whereas the male is 1.5mm. This species has an orange brown cephalothorax and a creamy grey abdomen.[1]

Distribution

This species is only known from scattered localities in the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand.[2]

Conservation status

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as "Not Threatened".[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Wilton, C.L. (1946). "A new spider of the family Archaeidae from New Zealand". Dominion Museum Records in Entomology. 1: 19–26.
  2. ^ a b Forster, R.R. (1955). "Spiders of the family Archaeidae from Australia and New Zealand". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 83: 391–403.
  3. ^ "Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  4. ^ Sirvid, P. J.; Vink, C. J.; Fitzgerald, B. M.; Wakelin, M. D.; Rolfe, J.; Michel, P. (2020-01-01). "Conservation status of New Zealand Araneae (spiders), 2020" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 34: 1–37.